Cray-cray Fruit-tay-tay

Snapped at the Chinese market (not to be confused with the Korean market, where I do the bulk of my shopping).

I have eaten this fruit precisely one time. 

Strange, indeed. 

Funky, sweet, odd combination of fruity flavor profile, with a top note of rotting onions, yet inoffensively so, if that makes any sense. Will I eat it again? HELL NO. 

More Cray-cray Fruit-tay-tay (or in this case, VEG-ay-tay)

Sundays typically are my BIG COOK day, where I do a big batch of 1-2 items, portion out half for fridge, half for freezer, then set up some things to marinate, or be otherwise prepped for quick preparations during the week.

This Sunday, after I did a batch of chicken based bone broth for my lunch bag, I also made about three quarts of a special sambar.

This batch of sambar is special because it involves drumstick and jackfruit seeds. The left item in the photo is of pearl onions and drumsticks thawing, middle is parboiled, peeled jackfruit seeds, and the third item is shelled fresh tamarinds awaiting a soak in boiling water. 

This sambar is also special because I am using up some of my mother-in-law's custom blended and ground sambar powder. She gave it to me a while ago, and I keep it in a huge zip lock bag inside an air tight container and keep it in my freezer. While it is not fresh ground, it's about as well kept as possible.  When I return to India in 2015, I look forward to not only procuring MORE of this, but also learning her super secret proportions of it.

And sadly, neither pics of the end product (sambar) nor a recipe shall be forthcoming. Some things I choose to keep to myself. But by all means, ogle the strange veggies! :)

That's a Fact, Jack! Part 1

Did you know that jackfruit can grow up to 80 lbs each? 

 I enjoy going to the Korean market, as it's like finding an 

Easter egg every week.

This week was jackfruit. 

Behold the pictured jackfruit. Each of them formidable 

in size and heft, and I suspect they each 

weigh the equivalent of an American toddler (or more).

Given that we're celebrating Navratri in our household,

I figured this would be a nice treat for the holiday.

And by "nice treat," I do mean  "worth the effort," 

because for those folks not well versed in jackfruit,

it's a tricky, sticky endeavor. 

And by "sticky," I mean resinous.

Most people would oil up their hands,

however, I have nitrile gloves on hand, so I used 

them instead, as they give a better grip, and 

when done, I can just toss the gloves in the trash.

Here I am, dispatching the fruits and arils (seeds).

While yes, $1.19 a pound is pricey, I use both,

the fruits and the seeds, so that helps justify

the cost.

The fruits we generally eat out of hand. The seeds,

however, are an unusual treat. In India and Thailand,

boiled, peeled, salted jackfruit seeds are a delicacy.

Much in the way that fava beans need to be peeled,

so, too, do jackfruit seeds.

I found the best way to do so is to put them in a 

microwave safe bowl, submerge in water, cover,

and microwave until you start hearing the seeds

pop. Let cool, and it's easier to peel off the 

skins this way, or at least that's what "I" think.

The seeds from this point can either be salted and eaten,

and have the taste and texture similar to chestnuts,

OR! They can be tossed into a batch of sambar (whole) or

sliced up and added to sundals and poriyals.

Last night's Navratri sundal was (whole) green moong 

sundal, with sliced jackfruit seeds, and gave it all a

bit of tang from some amchoor powder.

I would have liked to have added some fresh 

green mango to it as well, but didn't have it on hand

and worked with what I had. And it was lovely.

Next up will be a batch of sambar, which I will

add the leftover seeds, perhaps some drumstick (another

favorite Indian vegetable/delicacy).

More Cray-cray Fruit-Tay-Tay

In the first picture: Still Life, Jackfruit and Banana Blossom (or banana heart, or vaizhpoo, if you want to use the Tamil word).

 Both are labor intensive to prep, and I wear purple nitrile rubber gloves when handling both. Banana blossom tends to stain horribly, and the jackfruit is super sticky/resinous. Hence the gloves.

(And no, contrary to what my friends think, I am not enterprising enough to color coordinate my clothing with my cutting board with my gloves. It's colorful serendipity!)

Both are fabulous south Indian treats. The jackfruit itself is eaten (each of those golden globs are individual fruit inside the wedge, and inside those globs are arils or seeds which are ALSO treats.)

The third photo is vaizhpoo paruppu usili, which is a labor intensive, labor of love. My husband adores this dish, and allegedly, banana blossom is very uterus-friendly. My flaw here was not removing the right part of the banana blossom (see also: those long strands, the hard stamens should be removed. Totally edible, but they add a bit of bitter to the dish, and also, I am unable to chew them sufficiently for me to swallow them, given my gastric bypass, I don't want to run the risk of a blockage).

The recipe itself, I cannot lay claim to; however, this is the recipe I used. And the only alteration I did was to cook the batter in the microwave.

More Cray-cray Fruit-tay-tay

My tastes have always leaned towards the exotic. 

From the first chance I ever had (as a child) to make a choice 

of what I wanted to eat, 

I always wanted to try something I have never tried before. 

Life is too short to eat boring fruit.

Pictured above: Rambutan